Family SG1 Style
by Revvie-S
Summary: SG1 teams up to help Jack cope with a huge change in his personal life in ways that only SG1 can. More chapters now added- things are getting complicated in the O'Neill household! Will Sam and Jack work things out?
1. Default Chapter

The day was cold and clear, a bright autumn afternoon, and General Jack O'Neill stood silently, staring at a new headstone in a quiet cemetery in Minnesota. The funeral had been yesterday for his younger sister, and Jack had found himself flooded with regrets. They had never been close and he knew he was to blame. Although in recent years he had visited her and her three children several times, especially since the death of her husband, he had remained withdrawn and distant around her.

Pulling his military coat more closely around him and adjusting his shades, Jack sighed and closed his eyes as he remembered the life of a sister so much younger than him that they had never really known each other. But what little he had known of her made him wish now that they had been closer, for she had been one of the good guys, and had left a family of great kids to prove it.

Kids.

Oh, yeah.

Jack shook his head and began walking back to his truck, thinking about the change in his circumstances now that Sally's kids were orphaned. Her husband had died a few years ago and Sally's recent life had not been an easy one. In spite of the emotional distance between her and her older brother, she had designated him as the responsible party for her three children in the event of her death, an event that had now sadly become a reality.

With one last wistful glance at her grave, Jack climbed in his truck and roared down the interstate towards the house where his three new responsibilities awaited him.

As he drove from the graveside to his sister's house, he speed-dialed Daniel back in the Springs. Nobody knew where he was yet and he felt the need, unusual for him, to talk to someone. Daniel would be able to help, and so would Sam and Teal'C. They were his only family anyway, in Jack's mind.

The phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Daniel. It's Jack. I won't be in to work this morning. I'm ah, in Minnesota."

"Why?" Daniel drawled in his characteristic tone.

"A funeral. Look, I need to talk this through," Jack ventured.

"What? What?"

Daniel was truly concerned now. He couldn't remember those words ever coming out of O'Neill's mouth before.

"I'm not sure what to do."

"So tell me."

"My sister is dead, Daniel. Killed in a car accident two days ago. Uh, I've just been given custody of my sister's three children."

"Jack, I'm so sorry about your sister's death. Wait: custody? Of three kids?"

"...yeah..."

"and they're..."

"I'm coming back in a few days and bringing them to live with me."

"Wow. What can I do to help, Jack?"

Daniel hurt for his friend as he listened to the events in Jack's life for the past two days. He'd known Jack had a sister, but didn't know that she and Jack were in somewhat regular contact and that her family lived less than an hour from Jack's cabin in Minnesota. But nobody but Daniel knew yet what Jack had just told him.

Now Jack was trying to get ready for a huge change in his life and the lives of his nieces and nephew.

"Daniel, can you call Sam and Teal'C and tell them for me? And ask Sam if she can, you know, do something to get my house ready for next week. I'm bringing them home on the 15th if all goes as planned."

"What is the plan?"

"I'm, ahhh, working on it. Will you call Sam and Teal'C for me?" he repeated plaintively.

"Sure, Jack. But I'd like to come up there- sounds like you could use some extra hands. How do I get there?"

"I'll email you the directions."

"Hang in there, Jack."

"Thanks, spacemonkey." Jack hung up and prepared himself to enter the house.

_back in Colorado Springs_

"What?"

"I know this is a lot to take in, but..."

"He had a sister and he never thought to mention it to me? He's got a seventeen year old nephew? A thirteen year old niece and a four year old niece too?"

"Sam, it's nothing personal, I'm sure..."

"Exactly!" Daniel could hear the steam coming out of her ears.

"Well, that's not really important now, is it? He needs us right now."

There was a long moment of heavy silence.

"You're right, Daniel. What can I do?"

"Sam, this refrigerator is almost empty. He needs everything!" exclaimed Cassie.

"Except maybe beer. Yeah, he definitely has enough beer. It's all Guinness."

"Cassie! Stop snooping. Just start putting away the cold stuff," ordered Sam.

"Teal'C!"

"In here," came Teal'C's muffled reply from the spare room, where he was absorbed in assembling a do-it-yourself bunkbed.

"I still don't think this room is big enough for two."

Sam surveyed the spare room, looking around the house as if a third bedroom would materialize out of thin air.

"What about putting the guest bed in the study and moving the desk out here to the family room?"

Cassie had joined her and was beginning to get into the spirit of redecorating.

"That's a good idea- but- do you think we should make a change that big? Although, he did say to see what needs to be done," Sam mused to Cassie.

"And," Cassie continued, "The study has a door on it, and it's private and all- soooo what should we move first?"

The two women smiled conspiratorially at each other.

By dusk, the transformation was complete. The fridge was stocked with kid-friendly items, the family room now had a small but efficiently planned office nook, and the erstwhile study now looked like a teenager's room, complete with a makeshift desk in the corner consisting of a few cinder blocks and a tabletop.

The doorbell rang just as the Sam fell on the couch, exhausted. Cassie answered the door.

"Pizza's here!"

"Yum! I'm starving!"

"I'll pay," offered Teal'C, who had ordered an extra large pepperoni along with the ladies' order.

Soon the three were full of pizza, dozing off in front of the TV.

"I wonder what the General and Daniel are doing right now," mumbled Sam.

"You're worried about him, aren't you?" asked Cassie softly.

"Yeah. I can't imagine him taking care of kids. I mean, I know he loves kids, I've seen him with plenty of kids off-world and he always gets attached. I know he will love them. But, how is this going to work out with his schedule and all the classified stuff?"

"Perhaps we should fall asleep on it, Samantha Carter," Teal'c advised.

"You mean, sleep on it? Actually, falling asleep right here is fine with me," Sam stated, and she curled up on the couch and closed her eyes.

"Me too," muttered Cassie without opening her eyes in the overstuffed easy chair.

"I will see you in the morning, then," Teal'C smiled as he headed for the door. Sam still couldn't get used to the idea of Teal'C driving.

"Good night, Samantha, Cassandra."

"Night, T," murmurred Cassie.

"G'night."

Sam lay in the dark trying to sleep, wondering what tomorrow and the day after tomorrow would bring.

Jack bit back a cry of frustration as he went to Maddie's bedside again for the third time that night.

Since Maddie had arrived with her siblings at the General's three weeks ago, Jack's life had been turned upside down by the petite, sweet, wrecking machine known as Madeleine Becker. Her older sister Mindy was still in shock over her mother's death, and spent most of her time when she was not in school reading in the easy chair. Jack had already developed a bond with the sad, shy teenager, knowing from his own experience what it was like to feel cut off from everyone. Mindy had reached out to Jack, too, and he was gratified that they seemed to be growing close.

But Maddie- she was in her own world of four year old exuberance and bravado, not even seeming to realize that a great tragedy had befallen her. She leaned out of the top bunk as Jack came into the room, so far that he jumped to catch her before he realized she was totally in control of her body and in no danger of falling despite how it looked.

"Okay, what?" he barked, military-like, right in her face, but with an only partially suppressed smile as she brashly met him eye to eye. The cheeky little girl simply smiled angelically and batted her pretty eyelashes.

"I hafta go to the bafroom, Uncle Jack."

"Oh for crying out... get down," he grumbled as he lowered her to the floor.

"...and I need anovver drink of water," she cooed.

"What, so you can go to the bathroom in 20 minutes again?" Jack said loudly with his fake 'outraged' look.

Maddie giggled, completely unruffled by his stern demeanor, and danced off to the bathroom.

He watched her go, and a pained expression crossed his face. Of the three of them, Maddie looked the most like her Mom had as a child, and the memories of taking care of his own rambunctious little sister came back like it was yesterday. How long had it been since he had thought about those childhood years? Since he had let himself remember, rather than cutting off the good memories for the sake of forgetting the bad?

"Uh Oh!" came a singsong voice from under the bathroom door. Jerked back to the present, Jack walked swiftly to the closed bathroom door.

"WHAT?"

"Ummm, nothin'."

"Right."

When Maddie was finally back in bed, without any additional water in spite of her wheedling, Jack headed out to the family room. Nick sat in front of the TV and didn't look up, so Jack sat in the chair without comment. When the commercial came on, though, Nick shifted and looked over at Jack.

"How you doing?" Jack asked.

"Okay, I guess. I met Cassie at school today, she's nice. She's kinda watching out for me, I think." Nick smiled a little.

"She's a great girl. Someone you want watching your back. Nick, tomorrow I'm leaving on a business trip. I should only be gone for three days, but Janet and Daniel will be checking in on you three, helping Maddie get to bed, and fixing dinner while I'm gone. Think you and Mindy can handle everything for a few days? I'll leave you some other phone numbers too."

"Guess so, we've done it before. What do you do, exactly?"

"It's classified."

"Is it dangerous?"

"Well, sometimes, yes it is."

Nick was silent at that, a look of anxiety crossing his face for just a split second, but not before Jack realized what he was thinking.

"Nick, you and your sisters have had a lot of loss in your life. All I can say is I have already lived through a lot of dangerous situations. Hey, it's a gift. I can't make any promises, no one can. You have learned the truth of that the hard way, I know. But I don't take unnecessary risks, and I'm good at what I do. I'll be back in three days."

"Yeah. Guess I'll go to bed now. Goodnight, Uncle Jack."

Nick got up and walked slowly to the door of the study. He turned around.

"Mom told me she didn't know what you did either, but that you were very cool."

Nick smiled mischievously and Jack grinned back.

Maybe, just maybe, they were going to be okay.

"Sam, it's me."

"Who?" Sam's voice was fogged with sleep.

She looked over at her clock. It read 3:47. A.M.

"Wake up, Carter, it's O'Neill. Maddie is running a high temperature. Should I take her to the emergency room?"

"It's probably not that serious."

"How do you know that?"

"Okay, on my way, sir," Sam sighed.

She hung up a little louder than necessary and pulled on her jeans and sweatshirt that were conveniently on the floor where she had dropped them at midnight, having returned from being over at Jack's home earlier.

This was the third time this month O'Neill had called her in a panic over some child related crisis. He never looked rested anymore and he was definitely grumpier, if that was even possible. His new wards were great kids, and no more or less trouble than any family of three, but Sam could see the toll it was taking on Jack. He acted as if there were dire consequences lurking behind every event in their lives. Of course, she didn't know if she would react any differently, not having any kids of her own. Just thinking about the responsibility of three instant children made her sweat.

She grabbed her helmet and headed out to her bike.

Sam had to ring the doorbell twice before a very disheveled Nick answered the door.  
"Hi, Sam, Jack's in Maddie's room cleaning it up."

"Cleaning it up?"

"Yup. She threw up all over the place. I sprayed the floor with Lysol and mopped it, Jack's collecting the dirty laundry-"

"I'm going." Sam sighed.

She walked down the hall and poked her head in the room. The scene that met her eyes was pathetic. Maddie was crying softly on her bottom bunk, Mindy was standing as far from the beds as possible looking miserable and grossed out, and Jack, with bags under his eyes and his hair sticking wildly in every direction, was gingerly stuffing sheets and blankets into a laundry basket.

Sam squared her shoulders and marched in.

"Give that basket to Mindy. "Mindy, go start this load, would you please? Maddie, let's take your temperature."

Sam opened her first aid kit and got to work.

"Thanks for coming, Carter," Jack mumbled.

He sat down tiredly on the tiny desk chair, dwarfing it.

"I think she might have strep throat," mused Sam, with a flashlight stuck in Maddie's mouth.

"Some pain medicine should help her feel better until we can get her to a doctor tomorrow."

"I'll get her some cold water and I've got some sort of liquid kid stuff in the kitchen."

Jack left to go to the kitchen.

Sam gently ruffled Maddie's hair and looked sympathetically into her eyes.

"I want my Mom," she sniffed with tears rolling down her hot cheeks. Sam's heart lurched.

"What did your Mom do when you were sick?"

"She rocked me."

"Well, how about we go sit in the rocking chair together?"

"'kay."

Jack found them curled up in the overstuffed rocker a few minutes later. As soon as Maddie had taken some medicine, the two rocked slowly and Sam began singing quietly. With a tender glance at Sam and Maddie, Jack flopped on the couch and closed his eyes gratefully. He was so tired that Sam's tuneless humming soon lulled him to sleep as well. Maddie's eyes slid shut even faster.

The sun was shining in her eyes and her arm was asleep when Sam abruptly woke up and realized she had spent the remainder of the night with Maddie in the rocker.

Carefully, so as not to wake her, she got up and carried Maddie back to her bed and laid her on top of the sheets with her baby blanket draped over her. Then she went to the kitchen and called the doctor on call at the base, making plans to bring her to the SGC within the hour. Even though the kids weren't part of the program, SG1 was such a close team that it seemed natural to include the kids in their routine.

Sam then went back to where Jack was sleeping on the couch and shook him awake.

"C'mon, sir, we need to take Maddie to the infirmary."

"Can't move, Carter."

"Yes, you can. I made coffee. That should help."

"Nothing will help." Jack slowly sat up and made his way to the coffeepot, Sam right behind him.

"You know, General, you can't do this alone."

"I've got every thing under control, Carter."

"Let us help, sir. Don't wait until things are in crisis to call. I'll come help with Maddie a couple nights a week. I'm glad to, I like being around kids."

"Coffee's good. And I can handle this."

"With all due respect, no you can't. Not alone."

"Look, Carter," Jack said forcefully, "I've been alone most of my life. I can do alone."

"But you're not alone, sir. You've got these kids to consider now. Besides, Daniel and Teal'C and I don't have kids, and being around yours would be a treat for us! Let us help."

"What do you suggest?" Jack looked at her seriously, beginning to warm up to the idea.

"Team meeting, here, tonight. We'll discuss it. We're basically a family anyway. Let us help."

"SAM!" Maddie was up calling from her bedroom.

"Time to go, sir."

"Yup."

He stood and stretched and dragged himself up the stairs, soon reappearing with tiny Maddie clinging to his neck and her curly haired head on his shoulder. Sam couldn't help smiling at the cute picture they made standing there hugging each other.

That night Jack, Daniel, Sam, and Teal'C sat around the kitchen table at Jack's house eating pizza and drinking soft drinks. Teal'C had that little grin on his face he always had when he was officially off-duty. Every sip of the soft drink in his large hand elicited his amused grin. This week he was trying Root Beer and thought it very tasty.

Daniel was drinking one of Jack's beers and Jack was watching him furtively for his famous 'cheap drunk' reputation to make itself known. He uncapped a second beer and subtly slid it over towards Daniel's almost empty bottle.

"Ahem," admonished Sam, watching his actions and knowing exactly what he was up to.

"Let's get this meeting to order. It seems that SG1, after saving the world eight times over, has an important mission right here on earth, specifically, uh, what is it we're trying to achieve exactly?" Sam faltered.

"C'mon, Carter, this was your idea," Jack retorted.

"Your idea!" Daniel repeated fuzzily.

"I believe Colonel Carter is offering to delegate the responsibilities of your nieces and nephew among the four of us," Teal'C jumped in, "so I volunteer for Mondays."

"What?" Jack frowned.

"Wait a minute, Teal'C, you can't just volunteer for Mondays- can he do that? And what are we volunteering for, anyway?" Daniel turned to O'Neill.

"I don't know. I think we need a schedule."

"So what do you need us for?" Said an unhelpful and sleepy Daniel.

"Uncle Jack, my throat hurts! Sam, can you give me some of that bubble gum med'cin?"

"Here's your chance to pitch in, Carter," Jack pointed out helpfully.

"Gee. Thanks, sir." Sam sighed and disappeared into the back of the house.

"Look, Sam's heart is on the right place, but the three of us are off world half the time. What you need is an au pair."

Daniel sounded authoritative.

"Don't those things cost money?"

Jack sounded truly grumpy and frustrated with the situation.

"Most things cost money last I checked," Daniel groused back.

Sam came back from the back of the house wiping her hands with a kitchen towel.

"Sir, I have an idea."

"It's about time, Carter."

"My niece lives here in town and is looking for a job right now. Let me talk to her about being your nanny."

"Fine."

"Just like that? Fine? Really?"

"Sure. Look, I figure how bad can she be compared to what's going on now? Besides, I trust you Carters. She's a Carter, right?"

"Well, yes she is, and thank you, sir. Her name is Kelly Carter. I'll set up an appointment so you can interview her"

"She's hired."

"I believe that it would not be wise to be so hasty, O'Neill," Teal'C cautioned.

"She's a Carter, Teal'C! She'll be fine. I'll call her Carter the second."

"I think she would prefer to be called Kelly," Sam suggested, "and I know you'll like her once you get to know her."

"If she's coming to help me take care of these kids, I adore her already, Colonel."

Kelly Carter knocked for a third time on the front door of General O'Neill's house, adjusting the heavy duffle on her shoulder. She flipped a long lock of blonde hair out of her eyes and pulled off her pink-tinted sun-glasses.

"What's with this dude?" She grumbled to herself, snapping her gum loudly.

Just then the door flew open, almost hitting her, and a four year old whirlwind burst out to take her free hand and pull her inside.

"Kelly's here everbody! Kelly's here, Uncle Jack!"

"Awesome!" whispered Nick, giving Kelly the once-over, but Jack overheard and got suspicious. He ran out into the foyer still holding a laundry basket.

"Uh oh," he said to himself, taking in the interested inspection Nick was giving the sassy blonde.

Audibly, he smiled, "Hi, you must be Kelly! Come on in, sit anywhere you can."

Jack motioned to the chairs and sofa with books and jackets and backpacks half blocking all of them. He introduced the three children, as Mindy had now joined them in the den having heard the commotion.

When Nick was introduced, Jack could have sworn sparks flew visibly through the room.  
'Oh, no,' he thought. "So, how old did you say you were?"

"Didn't say yet. I'm 20."

"Carter didn't mention how uh, young youyour age," Jack said cautiously.

"I've had my own apartment for three years, General O'Neill, and I have been working and supporting myself all that time."

He had a sense of deja-vu as she gave him the patented Carter 'is that tough enough for you?' look.

"Okay, good enough for me- I was just asking," he backed off.

"Uh, your room is this way, across from the girls' room, and the bathroom is shared between the rooms. Anything you need?"

"Nada, zero, zilch-I'm good," Kelly said breezily as she ably swung her loaded duffel through the doorway of her newly assigned room.

"Yeah, you're good," mumbled Nick, then swerved as Jack swung a gentle fist into his shoulder.

"I think we'll go have a little talk while Kelly gets settled in," Jack said to him quietly, motioning towards the deck.

Nick smiled innocently at Jack and followed him outside. This was going to be interesting. Jack shuffled around for a minute while Nick smirked at the deck floor. Suddenly Jack turned to him with a stern countenance.

"Look, Nick, Kelly is going to be working here. This is her job- to manage you guys and, you know, do what needs to be done. You will treat her with respect and I want you to pretend she's 70 years old."

"What?" Nick looked outraged.

"OK, 30. In other words, she's out of your league."

"What do you mean, Uncle Jack?"

Nick tried to keep his innocent look alive, but O'Neill wasn't buying it.  
"I saw the way you looked at her. I wasn't born yesterday. Now I want you to remember our little chat and act accordingly. Understood?"

"Yes sir!" Nick mock saluted, but with more affection than defiance.

"Uncle Jack?"

"Hmmm."

"Was the way I looked at her the same way you look at Colonel Carter?"

"Huh? What are you talking about? I don't look at Colonel Carter in any way other than a good colleague."

"Yeah, whatever. G'night!"

Nick sauntered back inside smiling to himself and went to his room. Jack stood out on the deck a little longer, staring in the direction Nick had just gone, trying to figure out how Nick had noticed something Jack was only faintly aware of himself.

Later that evening, after finally getting Maddie in bed and the other two in their rooms studying, Kelly came into the living room and began picking up the dishes from the coffee table. Jack was dozing in the armchair but he came to as she began bustling about in the kitchen, washing off the dishes and loading them into the dishwasher. He got up and leaned against the wall between the kitchen and the small breakfast room, watching Kelly as she attacked the dirty kitchen with utter seriousness.

"So, Kelly."

"Yes sir? Sam told me to call you sir."

"How 'bout you call me Jack. I get enough sir at work. Tell me about you. What do you like to do?"

"Well, Jack," she replied, saying his name a bit more loudly than necessary, "I'm trying to save enough money to go to college. I really want to study deep space telemetry."

Jack tried not to laugh out loud. "And what do you know about that?"

"Oh, I read everything I can find about data transmission technology. That's what telemetry means. Did you know scientists can actually send and receive intelligible data transmission signals from as far away as-"

"GAHH! I mean, that's uh, interesting." Jack began clicking his pen open and shut and softly kicking the counter.  
"What made you want to study that?"

Jack was almost afraid to ask her, just in case she started spouting scientific garble again. But Kelly wiped the plate she was holding and put it into the cabinet before answering.

"Aunt Sam. My Dad is Sam's older stepbrother. Grandpa Jacob was married for a few years before he and my Mom got divorced and he married Sam's Mom...my Mom lives in Maine and I don't see much of her. That's where my Dad grew up. And my Dad never went to college. He says if I go it will be when I can pay for it. But Sam is so cool. She is always encouraging me to not settle for second best. I don't want to let her down. She's been there for me every step of the way since I went out on my own three years ago. She thought this job would be a good way to solve your problem and mine at the same time. I get money and a free place, and you have a nanny for when you travel. And I'll do my best, I promise."

"I'm sure you will," Jack smiled gently.

He already had a good feeling about this girl. He was silent while she finished cleaning up, and worked with her to help it go faster. He had not known that Jacob had been married twice or that Sam had a stepbrother. Or a niece, for that matter.

"You seem a lot like Sam," Jack said musingly. Kelly's faced brightened up instantaneously. It was obvious she admired her Aunt Sam a lot.

"The kitchen is closed. I'm going to bed, I still have to finish unpacking my things."

Kelly gave Jack an uncertain glance, suddenly afraid she had told him too much too soon. It was obvious he had never heard of her or her branch of the family before.

"Good night, Jack."

"Good night, Kelly. If you need anything, feel free to hunt for it or ask me. I'll be up for a while yet. Got some deep space telemetry homework to do."

He barely controlled the smirk that threatened to grab his lips.

"Cool!" Kelly's eyes shone and then she left for her room.

Jack felt a twinge of guilt for pulling her leg.

But it was just so fun.

Daniel slid into a chair next to Jack in the commissary early the next morning.

"Well, you look rested for once, Jack."

"Yeah. I think this nanny thing is going to work out great. Kelly Carter is... well, she's a Carter."

"So, your home is now being run efficiently, your bathrooms are spotless, and your spices are in alphabetical order?"

"What spices?"

"Hello, O'Neill, Dr. Jackson," Teal'C's deep melodic voice rang over their heads as the big man sat down across from them. His tray was overflowing as usual.

"Hey, Teal'C. Jack was just telling me how his domestic issues seem to be resolved." Daniel could talk just like Teal'c when he put his mind to it.

"That is indeed good news. Kelly Carter is acceptable then, O'Neill?"

"She is 'indeed'," Jack teased Teal'c. Teal'c merely raised an eyebrow, too busy eating to respond.

"Where's Carter? We have a mission briefing in 20 minutes," Jack groused.

"Here, sir," Sam's cheerful voice rang out as she came up to the table where the guys sat eating, holding a steaming cup of tea.

"How are things going?"

"If you are referring to my new nanny, things are super. I think she's going to work out just fine."

Jack looked calm for the first time in months. Sam smiled smugly.

"We have a mission to consider, people. Let's go 'brief', shall we?"

Jack was beginning to appreciate his job as General in light of the new developments in his home life.

While SG1 went on missions for days at a time, he was for the first time in his life able to keep fairly regular hours without traveling. It was still hard to watch Sam, Daniel and Teal'C step through the Gate without him, and he still worried about them until they stepped back through onto the SGC ramp, but as he grew closer and closer to the kids, the pull of away missions waned.

Sometimes he was still surprised to come home after a long day and find his house pulsing with activity instead of the quiet dark place it had been for so many years. Kelly, with her up-front efficiency and unflagging energy, had provided Jack with just enough extra help that he was able to successfully juggle and enjoy both his job and his household.

Jack O'Neill was up to his elbows in soapy water when the phone rang.

He reached for it without a thought until he saw his soap-covered hand about to slime the phone, thought better of it and began looking around for a towel. Seeing one on the floor under the table, he dropped down to all fours and awkwardly retrieved it so he could mop himself off.

In the meantime, Mindy had answered the phone and was now holding it out to him as he fumbled around.

"It's General Hammond," she whispered importantly.

"Thanks, Min. Hello, General, I didn't know you were in town," Jack answered, slightly breathless when he finally took the phone. Mindy hung around trying to listen, but Jack waved her off with a smile and a pretend swat.

"General O'Neill, I need to speak with you. Can you come by my house sometime tonight?" Hammond had kept his house in the Springs and was home often to visit with his granddaughters.

"Sure, sir, how's about 1930?"

"See you then, and General, just you."

"Bye, sir," Jack responded, feeling a wave of uneasiness wash over him. He really didn't want another black-ops assignment, but he suspected it would have to be something covert for Hammond to have returned from Washington and to want to see him in person.

At General Hammond's house, it didn't take long for George to get to the point.

"I'm sorry about this, Jack, but you're the best man for the job."

"Let me see if I understand this- you want me to extract a Tok'ra operative from a Goa'uld-controlled planet, with a battalion of Tok'Ra and rebel Jaffa posing as my loyal army, by convincing the Jaffa battalion guarding him that I am a Goa'uld? And the way we're going to convince them I'm a Goa'uld is to fake an incident on our next mission which will convince everyone but you that I have been taken as a host."

"That's right, Jack. I will assume temporary command of the SGC in your absence. Go home and think about it. This situation isn't going to change anytime soon, although the sooner we can get this Tok'ra out of enemy hands the less risk he is to the rest of the Tok'ra. The Tok'ra were very insistent on this, I spoke to Jacob myself. They were also very insistent that you were the man for the job. This Tokra's very important to them, although they didn't say why."

"And...do they ever say why?"

Jack was looking extremely annoyed by now.

"Jack, It sounds like it must be really important to the security of Earth and the Tok'ra both or they wouldn't have asked us, specifically you, to get involved."

"What about my kids? What am I going to tell them? They've been through a lot this year and they don't need to be upset again."

"I'll work out something we can tell them that will keep them from undue worry until you get back."

"And if I don't? Never mind, General, I know you can jump off that bridge when you come to it. Okay. Where is a secure line I can reach you when I decide what I'm going to do?"

They both intuitively knew he was going to do it; he would have reacted much differently if he had already decided against the mission. General Hammond handed him a slip of paper with a number on it which Jack zipped into an inside pocket of his jacket.

Jack slipped out onto the dark driveway and into his truck quickly.

As he drove home again, he was about as troubled as he'd ever been.

* * *

The mission had gone smoothly for SG1. The last few days had consisted of unhurried collecting of mineral samples, exploration of a very rich group of Goa'uld ruins, and wonderful weather. The evenings around the campfire had been relaxing and enjoyable for a team that had been through a lot of difficult assignments in the last few months, not to mention the huge upheaval in Jack's personal life.

The four were packing up and preparing to go home when Carter heard interference coming through her long range scanner. She listened intently and then signaled to Jack.

"Sir, I think we've got hostiles coming into this planet's orbit, suggest we leave immediately."

"Roger that, Carter. You all get everything packed onto FRED. I'm going up to the top of the ridge to see if I can find out who they are. Give me your scanner, Carter."

"Sir, I could come with you."

This was an unusual request coming from O'Neill; she was a bit confused.

"I need you to make sure all these samples get stowed properly. Your scientist friends back at the SGC were very insistent about that. Stop looking at me like that, Carter. I listen in briefings. When it's important, anyhow. I'll be back in a few minutes."

He ran off towards the rise hoping that Jacob was behind it. Timing was everything to pull this stunt off.

As the team got FRED loaded and the Gate dialed, A glider swooped out of nowhere and activated their ring transportation just beyond the ridge where Jack had disappeared moments before. Sam was filled with a wave of alarm and she signaled to Teal'C and Daniel to back her up as she ran for the ridge, weapons ready.

The sight that greeted their eyes as they topped the ridge was an alarming scene. Jack was being dragged between what looked to be two Jaffa towards a man with an arrogant air that could only be a Goa'uld.

Sam signaled all of SG1 to drop onto their stomachs along the ridge as she desperately pondered what action to take.

The ring transporter activated once again, spitting out a female who strutted disdainfully over to the Goa'uld's side and three more Jaffa. One of the Jaffa dropped to his knees next to the female, who signaled for O'Neill to be brought to her.

From her vantage point, Sam could see that Jack was barely conscious and was being dragged the few yards to the queen's side. When the haughty female reached into the symbiote pouch of the submitting Jaffa, Sam realized what was happening, as did Daniel and Teal'C. The three rose and charged down the hill, weapons ready, to try and rescue Jack from certain infestation by the mature symbiote that had been drawn out of the Jaffa's pouch.

Jack looked directly at his team in the split second before rings descended over him and the group around him, and he and his captors disappeared. The glider was gone a few moments later, leaving the distraught team trying to come to grips with the tragic turn of events.

Sam was devastated. She couldn't believe she'd let him go over that ridge alone and wished with all her heart she had followed her gut instincts.

Sam unwittingly helped the credibility of Jack's abduction by calling General Hammond immediately upon arriving back at the base. He had casually let her know the day before he was in town, so he now hurried over to the SGC, having supposedly secured the assignment of temporary command after Sam's call.

It was very late by the time Sam was finished with briefing General Hammond on the situation. She went straight to Jack's home, where Kelly was folding wash in front of a late night show. She had decided to spend the night there to help Kelly with the school rush in the morning and also to let her know what had happened.

General Hammond had suggested that they not tell the children that there was an emergency or that General O'Neill was in danger. She and Hammond had come up with the story that Jack was detained on his mission due to some complications and would return home in a week or two.

Sam was immensely relieved that she would not have to tell the children the sobering truth just yet, but decided to give Kelly a more accurate picture to prepare her for what might happen.

Sam and Kelly talked for over an hour when Sam suddenly yawned uncontrollably and fought to keep her head upright.

"Sack out in my room, Aunt Sam, you look zonked," Kelly suggested.

"It's okay, the couch is pretty comfortable," Sam returned as she kicked off her shoes and curled up into the overstuffed sofa.

"And how do you know that?" Kelly teased.

"I think it's time for YOU to go to sleep too, before your mind overloads," Sam retorted. "G'night, Kelly. I'm glad we're here together tonight."

Sam looked overwhelmed.

"Night, Sam, get some rest."

After Kelly's door closed and the house was finally dark, Sam tried to fall asleep but could not. After a while, she got up and padded slowly down the hall in her sock covered feet, irresistably drawn to Jack's room.

It was dark but she could see outlines around the room from the moonlight coming through the windowpanes. She could almost feel his presence. As she stood silently surrounded by his things, the horror of the day caught up to her emotions and tears slid despairingly down her cheeks.

It helped a little to curl up on his bed and hug his blanket to her face, all the while wondering if she would ever see him again.

* * *

Jack was surrounded by Tok'ra and rebel Jaffa on the glider as they landed on the docking platform of the mother ship.

From this point on, the resistance had explained to him, they would be with real Goa'uld and their Jaffa. This group of rebels had been carefully playing out their roles for months now, preparing the way for the eventual rescue effort.

Jack was trying to commit to memory all the details they were firing at him about his insertion on the enemy ship as a new Goa'uld. Interacting with the Goa'uld in command of this vessel wasn't something Jack was looking forward to, but he was ready to give this mission his all so he could get this prisoner and return home. He was told he and his team, after coming on board supposedly for a diplomatic meeting, would overthrow the current commander and establish O'Neill as the new, power-hungry 'god' so he could gain control of the ship and search out the whereabouts of the operative. They would be acting their parts as convincingly as possible until they were able to mount a successful extraction.

SG1 and SG6 were on a joint mission to PH-117, a dusty wasteland of a world where previous teams had found evidence of Goa'uld activity, cataloging artifacts at an impressive site near the Gate.

Sam was ready to go home, lately finding it hard to concentrate on anything. She meandered over to Daniel, curious to see what was so enthralling that he'd been oblivious to her not so subtle sighs and fidgeting. He looked the part of the stereotypical archeologist, up to his elbows in dust with smears on his cheeks and chin, as he painstakingly uncovered a flat, smallish stone slab.

Two huge pyramid platforms towered behind him, giving him the appearance of being at a dig in Egypt.

"Daniel, how much longer?"

Sam cringed inwardly as she spoke, hearing Jack's voice and very inflection in the comment she had just barked out. Daniel must have noticed too, evidenced by the strange look he gave Sam before answering.

"Uh, can you give me another hour or two, Sam? There's a word or two on this tablet I can't quite get. Would you call Teal'C over here?"

Sam was intrigued for the first time since arriving on PH-117 and came closer to peer over Daniel's shoulder. He was holding two pieces of a broken stone tablet that fit together jaggedly and she could see his notebook filled up with Daniel's distinctive script as he had tried to decipher the glyphs.

Sam read out loud,

"The gods shall reign no more when the...overtakes ...and..."

she wrinkled her brow and depressed the com button in her jacket pocket.

"Teal'C? Daniel needs your help. I'm coming to switch off with you on perimeter."

Daniel smiled to himself, knowing he'd just been given the extra time he wanted.

* * *

Maddie had a pout so long Kelly teased her that her lips were brushing the ground. 

"C'mon, Maddie, you love preschool! The other kids are going to be sad if you're not there to play with them."

Kelly gave her an imploring face.

"They hate me!" Maddie declared melodramatically.

"They love you, baby! Now. Let me tie your shoes and brush your hair. We don't want to be late!"

Acting much more authoritative than she felt, Kelly grabbed her left shoe and began tying the laces. Maddie acquiesced, but continued to mope and mutter under her breath.

Kelly rolled her eyes when she thought she heard,"they do too hate me," several times.

Soon they were pulling up to the cheerful brick school that housed Maddie's preschool class. Maddie clung to her booster seat with all her strength as Kelly came around the side to get her out.

"C'mon, Maddie, don't be like this! Uncle Jack will be disappointed in you," Kelly said earnestly, pulling her ace out of her sleeve.

"OOKKKAAYYY. Just don't tell on me!"

Maddie reluctantly allowed Kelly to get her out of the car and they walked into the school, Kelly dragging the moody child by the hand. As they went down the hall, Kelly stopped Maddie with a hand on her shoulder and bent down to her eye level.

"It's just like you're going somewhere important, like Uncle Jack. He didn't want to go, but he knew he had to, so he did the right thing. Now this is the right thing that you need to do."

Kelly held her breath waiting for Maddie's answer. Maddie immediately straightened her back and a proud twinkle stole into her eyes.

"Ok, just like Uncle Jack. Bye, Kelly. See you later."

She marched with a military gait into the classroom.

* * *

Jack and company had run into a bit of a snag. They had succeeded in killing the Goa'uld and Jack was now in charge, but they had learned from the Jaffa on board that their current destination was a planet where they had left the Tok'Ra operative imprisoned with a small garrison of warriors. 

The dead Goa'uld had been particularly interested in this planet and it appeared that he thought the Tok'Ra operative had information about something of value hidden there.

Jack was supremely frustrated to learn that the prisoner was not even aboard the mother ship after all they had gone through to place themselves in a position to rescue him.

So the ship was now entering orbit around the planet in question as their quest for the missing Tok'Ra grew more convoluted.

The situation did lend credibility to Jack's takeover, however unplanned it may be. He was now a Goa'uld after the same mysterious device or weapon in order to increase his power. He was not completely play-acting; Jack was hopeful that whatever they found would aid them in their fight against the Goa'uld.

"It says, 'The gods shall reign no more when the creeping death overtakes them where they stand and the slaves shall be freed. The key to tomorrow lies by the throne of the past." Teal'C's eyes flashed with excitement as he and Daniel finished the translation.

"The key to tomorrow- the creeping death, the agent of destruction?"

"Throne of the past," Teal'C muttered. "Daniel Jackson, perhaps we should explore these pyramids."

Grabbing the two halves of the tablet and stuffing them in his backpack, Daniel stood up slowly as he adjusted to the increased weight. Within minutes they had found Sam and were on their way to the closest of the two pyramids. The entrance was partially blocked by fallen stone but they wormed their way through and clicked on their lights as they made their way down the center passageway.

"Colonel Carter. These bootprints are recent, no more than a few weeks old, Teal'C exclaimed, halting their progress.

Sam paused for a minute, instantly alert.

"Let's see where they lead. Stay sharp, guys. Teal'C, you're on point and I'll bring up our six."

The huge ship made the final approach to the landing area as Jack watched from the bridge with both loyal and rebel Jaffa. Two huge pyramids came into view and the large ship expertly manuevered onto the docking platform of the larger one. Now that they were close to finally achieving their goal of extracting the Tok'Ra who was undoubtedly imprisoned below, Jack had unilaterally decided to extend the mission and see if there was anything to this Goa'uld's quest. He and his team got prepared in case they met resistance down below from the garrison who would not be expecting Jack as the reigning Goa'uld.

The rings went deep under the pyramid directly to a chamber where six Jaffa stood waiting for their lord's arrival. They looked alarmed at the sight of the unknown Goa'uld and Jaffa and readied their weapons, but the original Jaffa from the ship, who were already convinced to follow O'Neill, ordered them to stand down. Confused, they lowered their weapons.

Jack began to wonder if maybe he was supposed to address them at this point, but before he could say anything one of his rebel Jaffa spoke for him.

"My Lord wishes to interrogate the prisoner. Bring him before us."

The leader of the Jaffa garrison bowed and left the room, barking at his subordinates to follow.

* * *

Sam called a halt to their stealthy advance as she sensed the presence of a Goa'uld near by. Teal'C, also sensing it, came and pointed silently down a passageway Sam was partially blocking, and as they proceeded the three found a cell at the end of a short hall. 

There stood a man, a host as Sam could easily sense, behind bars and looking to be in bad shape. He stood as they approached.

"Who are you?" Sam spoke first.

"I am Xandu. Please help me."

"Why are you imprisoned here? Where are your captors?"

"Behind you, Taur'i," came a snarling voice as the three were simultaneously zatted.

Their world went black.

As she came to, Sam slowly became aware of a very familiar voice speaking with unfamiliar venom. As it dawned on her who it was, a chill ran up her spine and she fought against the ropes that bound her. She opened her eyes, dreading the sight she knew she would see. Jack stood before them, apparently in a rage that spies had been able to walk right into the pyramid and then directly to such a valuable prisoner. The Jaffa, both those posing and those in a genuine fright as their lord raved, were bowed before him in submission.

She had found Jack against all odds, but feared he was more lost to her than ever.

Noticing that she had regained consciousness, Jack sauntered over to her, evil dripping from his features. "You will pay for your insolence, Taur'i," he jeered right in her face.

Then, almost imperceptibly, inches from her eyes, he winked.

Sam's startled look appeared to be appropriate fear to those around her, as Jack pulled back and gloated over Teal'C and Daniel, both also awake.

The Tok'Ra Xandu sat a bit apart, guarded by the six penitant guards who had been on the planet.

"Prepare the prisoners for interrogation! I wish to question them myself," Jack thundered as he sat on the throne in the middle of the room.

His Jaffa rushed off to put the four into irons in separate holding rooms. As all left except Jack and a few of his operatives, Jack slumped into the throne, running a hand across his forehead.

"Oy. Can this day get any worse?" He muttered under his breath.

Sam was thinking so hard her brain hurt as she sat flexing her wrists, sore from the chains around them. Had she seen what she thought she'd seen? Or was it just wishful thinking on her part? She'd seen Jack get snaked a week ago, or at least that's what she assumed had happened.

What was going on?

The door opened, distracting her from her inner turmoil, and Jack entered with two hefty Jaffa. They reverently removed his robe and Jack stepped further into the room, turning to face them imperiously.

"Leave us!"

He commanded in his best Goa'uld impersonation, enjoying the sound the Tok'Ra voice synthesizer made. They bowed and complied, and Jack shut the door as they left. For a moment he stood turned towards the door, and Sam couldn't see his face. The truth was, Jack was at a loss as to what to do now. The last thing he had expected on this mission was to run into SG1, and now if he let them go or appeared lenient with them, it could blow his cover.

He turned to see Sam watching him with a mixture of defiance and fear.

"You okay, Sam?"

His Goa'ulded voice did little to convince her he wasn't a snakehead.

"Oh, wait. Hey, remind me to turn this back on when I leave," Jack asked as he reached inside his gold armor and switched off the voice synthesizer.

"Jack!" Sam exploded, forgetting ranks for the moment in her relief.  
"You're not a Goa'uld!"

Jack smiled impishly. "Actually, I thought I made a pretty good Goa'uld, Carter," he responded smugly before he changed gears. "I don't know how we happened to run into each other, but this complicates things, Carter. I'm here on a mission, a secret mission, and you're not supposed to know!"

Carter looked unimpressed.

"What's your objective sir?"

"That Tok'Ra that was imprisoned with you. Apparently he needs rescuing."

"Sir, are you aware that this pyramid is a few minutes' walk from a Stargate?"

"Well, seeing you guys here is a clue, but no, I didn't know that until I saw you here. We were going to try to take a few gliders off the ship after disabling the weapons or something."

Sam waited for him to go on, but he said nothing.

"So, wouldn't it be easier if we just... all walk back through the Gate?"

The look on her face was just to this side of insubordination.

"Good idea, as usual, Carter. Hey, I'll get back to you when I gather everybody up. And remember to act like I'm hurting you if I hit you or zap you or whatever."

"Got it. And sir, I'm glad you're not a Goa'uld. You had me worried."

"Be back soon, Sam." This last sentence was spoken through the reactivated Goa'uld voice box.

"Yes, my Lord," Sam muttered.

Jack grinned wickedly.

Teal'C was his next visit, where Jack learned about the translation Daniel and Teal'C had figured out.

"Sounds like we need to check it out, Teal'C. I was just sitting on a throne, do you think that's the throne from the stone tablet?"

"Possibly."

"Okay, I'm going to drag you back up to the throne room now, so act like you're in pain. Stop smiling."

"I will do as you request, O'Neill."

Within the hour, O'Neill had succeeded in passing the word through the rebels to send the Jaffa loyal to the Goa'uld up to the throne room in fours or fives, where they were caught by surprise by SG1, zatted, gagged and tied up. O'Neill was otherwise occupied searching around the throne for anything that might be unusual. Daniel was soon helping him, onceno more Jaffa needed to be neutralized.

"We've gotta go, Daniel," Jack cautioned as he continued to look.

"The Jaffa upstairs are going to come looking for us soon," Jack cautioned, referring to the ship in orbit.

"Aha!" Daniel said triumphantly, dragging an ornate gold box of oblong shape from a under a slab behind the throne.

"This has to be it."

"Good work. Everyone to the Stargate, now," O'Neill ordered to those present and through the com.

This bizarre mission couldn't end soon enough for him.

The briefing was finally over but it was in the running for one of the longest, most complicated mission briefings of Jack's career, rivalled only by the one after they had traveled back in time to 1969.

That briefing had ended in a Carter-led discussion of what-ifs that still gave him a headache.

The Tok'Ra, rather than being grateful for the SGC's response to their request and the ultimate success of the mission, had bickered over who should rightfully claim the mysterious gold box that was currently in a very safe place in Daniel's lab.

Jack was still miffed about the whole plan in general, maintaining very insistently that the Goa'uld charade thing was unneccessay and had put him, his team, and the others at too great a risk. He would have just blown the door off the pyramid and shot his way in, as he so delicately put it.

For that matter, he argued, why involve the SGC at all? The Tok'Ra could have retrieved their guy without all the spy versus spy stuff.

Of course, that led the Tok'Ra to suggest that if the Taur'i weren't willing to work side by side with the Tok'Ra, then they should just give them that little gold box.

Sam had a few heated words on this subject as did Daniel.

General Hammond finally put an end to it all and agreed to allow the Tok'Ra to help the SGC determine the artifact's value as long as all research was conducted at the SGC. Research was to begin right away.

If Daniel had anything to say about it, that meant tonight.

It didn't take the delegates long to leave, and soon Sam was waiting for Jack to finish up with Hammond. She had missed him and had worried about him, and for once she was going to tell him so.

"Carter, you free for dinner? Not a restaurant- how about we pick up something and eat it with Kelly and the kids?"

Jack had finally left the briefing room and was walking towards the elevators with Sam.

"Sure. I guess you're looking forward to getting home, sir?"

The doors to the elevator opened and they stepped in, punching the button for the surface.

"Very much. It's been a long week and a half."

Sam saw an opening and took a deep breath.

"It was a long week and a half for me too, sir. I missed you and I didn't know what to do when I saw you taken captive."

"I'm sorry, about that, Sam. Now that it's all over I can't imagine why it was necessary to keep you all in the dark. It's what the Tok'Ra insisted on."

His face was dark as he mentioned the Tok'Ra.

"Thinking that you might not come back was the hardest part."

Sam looked at her feet until Jack reached out and brushed her arm with his fingertips, his eyes searching for forgiveness.

She gave him that special smile he was waiting for, but then her eyes were distracted downwards.

"Are you wearing a bracelet, sir?"

Sam was trying to see a colorful band that was peeking out just a fraction under O'Neill's jacket sleeve. He shrugged and pulled the sleeve up, revealing a braided length of three differently colored strips of leather with the occasional bead, tied around his wrist.

"Kelly taught Maddie how to make these. I have a nice assortment."

Sam smiled in surprise at the General. He looked at her sheepishly for a minute, then fished around at his neckline.

"She made me this, too," he admitted, pulling out a similarly braided pendant with a garrishly painted glob of clay hanging from the middle.

Sam was on the verge of a giggle.

"Nice, sir. Does that, ah, hurt? That's quite a lump of jewelry." She cleared her throat to keep from laughing.

"As long as you asked," Jack leaned down and pulled up the cuff of his pants to reveal a lovely matching anklet.

"I didn't wear them whilst I was Goa'ulded, Carter, if that's what you're wondering. I just slipped this ensemble on in the locker room. Maddie will be inspecting me as soon as I step in the door."

"I see."

The doors opened and they walked towards their cars. "See you in a few minutes, General."

"Meet you at my house," he agreed, tucking his pendant back inside his collar.

The reunion at Jack's was full of exuberance. Maddie bounced around Jack like she had springs on her feet, and he felt like the center of the universe as he answered questions and listened to all of their news.

He wasn't surprised to find Cassie there too, but his eyes narrowed as he watched Nick and Cassie whispering and giggling together in the back of the room.

He made a mental note to himself to monitor that situation.

Sam called for delivery and sat down to catch up with Kelly. Sitting together on the sofa, their two blonde heads bobbing up and down as they talked animatedly, the two looked more alike than ever.

Jack answered the door when the doorbell rang, but it wasn't the delivery boy.

It was Teal'C and Daniel.

"Teal'C, buddy! Great to see you, but what are you doing here?" asked a puzzled Jack.

Teal'C straightened to his full height and came to attention.

"I volunteered for Mondays. It is Monday."

Daniel was behind him, smirking.

"And Daniel?"

"I don't know. Just missed you, Jack. Got anything to eat?"

Jack recognised this feeling coursing through him as he stepped aside and allowed his friends to enter.

It was a sense of belonging, a feeling of rightness and comfortability, like slipping on a favorite sweatshirt or falling asleep in front of the hockey game.

This was family, SG1 style.


	2. Kelly's troubles

The dishes were finally done from dinner, Kelly Carter noted to herself with satisfaction. She had been cleaning the kitchen for over an hour now, ever since Jack O'Neill's two nieces had decided tonight was a good night to make omelets for dinner along with homemade cookies for dessert. They were learning to cook, thanks to Kelly, but she realized they had a lot to learn in the clean-up department. Every ingredient they'd used was strewn about on the counter in varying amounts. The kitchen looked like they'd had a food fight.

Wiping her hands on a towel and once again surveying her handiwork, Kelly headed for the den to sit down and relax for a few precious minutes before taking on four year old Maddie's bath time.

Serving as an au pair to General O'Neill's newly adopted children was quickly becoming an all-consuming undertaking. Oh, the General paid her well, and gave her generous bonuses on top of her salary, so grateful was he to have her running his household. He worked long hours and consequently was away more than he was home, so not only did Kelly take up the slack for all the things he could not do himself, but she was also an emotional buffer for the three kids.

The kids.

General O'Neill's two nieces and his nephew had been living with their Uncle Jack for almost four months now and their lives were beginning to return to normal. Or as close to normal as possible, given their tragic circumstances- having lost both parents in an accident- and their legal guardian being Jack O'Neill.

Nick, the oldest at 17, was smart, quiet and a bit too interested in girls. Kelly felt like a detective on the trail of one of the FBI's ten most wanted whenever she tried to check up on him. He'd be good in covert ops, she allowed; it must run in the family.

The middle child, a thirteen year old girl named Mindy, was also quiet, but she was much more predictable and reliable than her charming older brother. Mindy stuck to her self-imposed schedule like clockwork: come home, eat a banana with peanut butter and a glass of milk, watch a half-hour of TV, do homework, help with dinner, and so on. None of which was punctuated with words unless Kelly asked her direct questions. Even then, the young girl's answers rarely ventured beyond one or two words. Mindy adored her Uncle Jack, however. He was the only one who could get her to open up about anything.

The brightest source of energy in the house was without a doubt the effervescent Madeleine. At almost five years old, she was a live wire, a bundle of nonstop, babbling, laughing activity. She too, loved and doted on her Uncle Jack, but Maddie loved everyone with the same abandon. Kelly often thought that if she ever had kids of her own, she'd want them to be like Maddie.

Kelly cracked open her textbook and tried to read the assigned chapters, but found herself yawning uncontrollably within minutes. It had been a long day. Looking around at the quiet house, she decided to go to bed and get up early to finish the assignment before tomorrow's class. She sighed as she walked back to her bedroom.

At first glance, this had seemed like a dream job when her Aunt Sam had told her about it. She had a place to live, her food was paid for, she had a steady income, and the three kids were all in school for the majority of the day. Kelly had imagined herself leisurely taking notes in class during the day and then writing brilliant essays at night after the kids were asleep. But the real world, as often happens, hadn't measured up to her dream world.

The front door opened quietly, but not so quietly that Kelly didn't hear it. Pulling her robe around her, she peeked out into the hall and looked into the foyer.

"General, sir! You're home!" O'Neill had slipped in and was already heading for the sofa after draping his coat over a chair.

"Yeah, come on in here for a minute and tell me how things have been going, Kelly." Jack's voice was low so as not to wake anyone. He gestured toward the other end of the sofa. Kelly felt better already. Maybe General O'Neill could help her figure out her messed up life.

"So, how's everybody?"

"Great, sir. No problems to speak of. Report cards came out this past week, they're all doing great."

"Hey, that's good. Boy, I used to hate report card day when I was a kid."

"Oh, I loved report card day!"

Jack gave her a wry look. "Why am I not surprised?" Jack teased. "So what about you, Kelly? How's school going?"

The girl tossed her long hair and shifted uneasily in her seat. "Well, I've been meaning to talk with you about that. I could use some advice, actually."

"Really? What's going on?"

"I dropped my Latin class today. And last week I dropped Chemistry. So that leaves me with 9 credits. But I'm still having trouble in my other subjects."

Kelly looked pretty miserable for a Carter.

"Really? You, Kelly? What's wrong?" Jack sat up, surprised at what he was hearing. She had his attention now.

"Well, like, I thought it would be easy to juggle school and my job, but I'm not getting much time to work on my schoolwork. My responsibilities here have been a lot more intense than I had imagined they'd be back when I took this job."

"Kelly? Please don't tell me you're quitting on me. You're fantastic. I need you. If you need more time to work on your schoolwork, I'll just make sure you get it."

"I don't want to quit, General O'Neill. I've gotten attached to the kids... and all." She looked shyly at him, then continued. "But I'll lose my scholarship if I can't keep up my grades and a full-time credit load."

"Well, what can I do to help?"

I guess you'd have to be home more often, sir. But I know how hard you work."

"No problem. I'm the General, I think I can arrange my schedule so I'm home more. I think."

Jack was deep in thought already. He didn't go off-world hardly at all any more, but he'd gotten into the habit, since his promotion to General, of staying on base as much as possible when teams were off-world, particularly SG1. He just felt better knowing that, if one of his soldiers got into trouble out there, he could react more quickly if he was on base. But the fact that the kids needed him at home had been creating more and more tension between him and them. His closeness with his nephew and nieces had suffered more than he cared to admit over the last few hectic months.

Something had to change.

"General O'Neill?" Kelly said, breaking his silent reverie.

"Hmm?"

"Could Aunt Sam help out more, like she used to? I could ask her for you, if you want. She really likes the kids, you know."

Jack glanced over at her then studied the rug in front of him as he sat contemplating her request. When he'd first assumed custody of his late sister's children, he'd been beside himself. Sam had stepped in and smoothed the waters for weeks while Jack had recovered his equilibrium. She'd been great with the kids, but she'd been an unfailing support for him, too, at a time when he didn't really understand how much he needed her. But then things had gotten complicated...

_...two months earlier..._

"_You look exhausted, Sam," Jack said with concern in his voice. The two of them had collapsed on the couch together after a long evening taking care of Maddie. The little girl had contracted a virus and between a high fever, nausea and a sore throat she'd been inconsolable until finally slipping into a Motrin-induced sleep a half hour ago. Seemed, to Jack, like someone was always sick in his house._

"_I am," Sam confessed wearily. She laid her head back on the pillows to prove it and swung her feet up right next to Jack's lap. Her eyes slid closed._

"_Maybe you should just sleep here." Jack surprised Sam by reaching out for her foot. Before she even realized what he was doing, he'd pulled her foot into his lap and was massaging it. He slipped off her sock and laughed when he saw her toes._

"_Carter?"_

"_Maddie made me do it," she explained with a small grin. Her toes were sparkly blue with tiny decals of dolphins centered on each nail. "You should see hers. Hey, my other foot hurts too."_

_Sam boldly slipped her other sock-covered foot into his lap. Jack and Sam both relaxed as Jack continued to rub both feet now, enjoying the intimate moment so far from work, duty, and decorum._

"_I could get used to this," Sam mused dreamily, her eyes half-closed._

"_This?" Jack asked, holding up a foot for a second, then continuing the kneading._

"_Well, this is great, but I meant this," she swung her hand around the room. "It's been a long time since I've been in a family like this. I guess I've missed that more than I knew. It makes my house feel so empty when I go home."_

"_Yeah, it's different. If you'd asked me a year ago what I'd be doing with the rest of my life, this is the last thing I would have expected."_

"_Do you like it?" _

_Jack put her feet down and they both sat up in response to the deepening conversation._

"_I'm not sure. I love these kids. But I'm not their Dad, and I'm pretty rusty at this parenting stuff."_

_Sam was thinking, Jack could tell from the little pucker between her eyebrows and the way she was pursing her lips._

"_What?" He asked, knowing there was something interesting going on in that mind of hers._

"_I...could help you."_

"_You already are, Sam, more than you know." Jack looked at her quizzically, sensing there was more._

"_No, I mean, yes, I've helped, because I'm your friend, and because the kids are wonderful and all, and because Kelly's here, but I mean...like, really help you. Be here for them. And you." _

_Not sure herself what she was offering, Sam blushed and fell silent._

"_You mean, like move in with me?" He released her feet then, as if he had just realized what he was doing. The way Jack repeated what she had said, it sounded to Sam like he was disgusted and outraged at the mere thought of it. That was what she'd meant, but when he put it so bluntly, she heard the inappropriateness of her offer through his tone. _

_Sam realized with a sickening jolt that she had misread him and grossly overstepped her professional boundaries. The casual closeness they'd enjoyed these past few weeks had nurtured her well-hidden fantasy that they were a couple. Heartsick and embarrassed, she stood and walked hurriedly across the room to retrieve her coat._

"_Sam, wait." Jack jumped to intervene between her and the door._

"_That came out wrong," he pleaded. "Come on, Sam, we're too tired to have a serious conversation and now I've upset you. Let's just forget it, and you come lay down and get some rest, okay?"_

"_I'm wrong to have said that. I'm sorry, sir. I never should have made that offer, I don't know what I was thinking. Good night." _

_She somehow managed to evade him and slipped out the door into the night. The tears had started on the way home as it became more and more clear to her that she had ruined whatever tenuous connection she and the General had outside of the mountain._

_Jack had tried several times since then to clear the air with Sam, but the walls were up and they were as thick as a fortress._

"Kelly, it's complicated between me and your aunt right now. She's trying to maintain a professional posture with me and if we spent time together outside of work, doing what would look like keeping house together, well...worst-case scenario, we could both lose our jobs."

"Being together at home would make it harder for you guys at work." Kelly sounded sad.

She got it.

"Yeah," Jack whispered, thinking about that awful night when he'd hurt Sam and wishing there was a way he could undo what he'd said to her.

"Why can't you and Aunt Sam be together? You know, you two seem like you're on the same wavelength or something. When I first met you, when Aunt Sam introduced us, I assumed the two of you were going out. I was kinda surprised to find out you weren't. You'd be great together, General O'Neill. Don't you want to go out with her?"

Jack didn't bat an eye at the young woman's forthrightness; he'd become used to her Carteresque directness over the months she'd been in his employ. He didn't have to answer for Kelly to discern his feelings in the matter. His thoughts were displayed openly on his face.

"Kelly, I'll be home earlier as often as I can swing it from now on. I'll take care of the kids and their activities in the evenings and stuff, and you get cracking on your studies. Got it?"

"Thanks a bunch, General. One more thing, though. If you don't mind me butting in a bit longer."

"Well, I get the feeling that nothing's going to stop you anyway," Jack remarked, smiling resignedly to let her know it was okay.

"I'm not the only one to notice that things between you two have been like, really messed up, lately. You and Aunt Sam need to work things out between you. You need to have a talk and figure out how to be friends again. Like you used to be. I miss that. We all do."

Jack reached over and patted Kelly's knee fondly. "I miss that, too. You're right, as always. You're too smart for me, Kelly. But hey, thanks. Now go hit the books."

Jack sat in the mostly dark den for a long time after Kelly had disappeared into her room to study, not sure what to do and feeling overwhelmed by all that life had handed him recently. Jack flopped bonelessly on the couch and hit the TV remote, looking for something, anything, he could zone out on. He was so tired of the relentless parade of responsibilities, both at work and at home. So tired that he was sorely tempted to run off to his cabin and never come back.

Maybe a beer would help. Or two.

He got haltingly to his feet and went to the fridge. Grabbing a beer and twisting the top off, he went out to the deck and sampled the cool night breeze as he took a long pull from the brown glass beer bottle in his hand. Somewhere deep inside him, a tightly wound spring let loose with a satisfying twang. If only this fragile feeling of peace could stay with him for longer than a few hours. If only it was this easy to solve the rest of his troubles.

But, truth was, he had no idea how he was going to solve any of it.

TBC

* * *

_Author's notes: Wow, this is the first thing I've written in months :) I've had a serious case of writer's block!_


	3. Chapter 3 Bad Mission

_Author's notes: Thanks for the encouragement! After these last few months I needed that! This chapter is getting more into the Sam and Jack relationship so if you don't like that sort of thing stop reading. On the other hand, if you DO like that, and I know a lot of us really really really (!) do, this story is definitely going in that direction. _

* * *

_From the last chapter: __He got haltingly to his feet and went to the fridge. Grabbing a beer and twisting the top off, he went out to the deck and sampled the cool night breeze as he took a long pull from the brown glass beer bottle in his hand. Somewhere deep inside him, a tightly wound spring let loose with a satisfying twang. If only this fragile feeling of peace could stay with him for longer than a few hours. If only it was this easy to solve the rest of his troubles._

_But, truth was, he had no idea how he was going to solve any of it._

* * *

_A week later..._

General O'Neill had resigned. Word had spread across the base like wildfire. In three weeks, a new CO would be running the Stargate program and nobody knew who yet. And O'Neill wasn't forthcoming with any information on who it might be.

Working out his three week notice, Jack was determined to leave his command in the best shape he could, so he was putting in a lot of long hours in spite of his promise to Kelly. He'd explained to her that just as soon as his retirement was official, her role with the kids would be a lot more manageable. He'd be home during the day, a regular Mr. Mom, and Kelly would remain in the household but with a lot less responsibility while she kept her studies on track.

But that wasn't helping Kelly any right now. She had to keep her scholarship this semester by maintaining a 3.0 average, and that didn't leave any time for the suddenly greatly increased need for her presence while the General finished out his three weeks. She was more stressed out than ever.

"Aunt Sam, this is Kelly, please pick up if you're there," Kelly pleaded for the third time in as many days on Sam's answering machine.

"Where is she?" Kelly groaned to herself as she hung up and slumped into the seatrest of her car. Sam and Kelly were in daily contact most of the time. A three day silence from her aunt was unheard-of. Kelly had class in a half hour and Maddy had to be at her soccer game in forty-five minutes. Nick had his driver's license now but couldn't help much since he had no car of his own, Kelly needed her car to get to school and Jack had the truck.

Which was at work, with him.

"Mindy! Get Maddie into my car, I'll drop you both off at the soccer field early. Take a book to read. I'll find someone to pick you up." Kelly was running around as she called to the girls, grabbing her notebooks and stuffing them into her backpack.

"And Nick? Can you fix dinner? There's some chicken in the freezer. Be creative."

"What goes with frozen chicken?" Nick smirked. Kelly glared. Nick cowered and slunk off to the kitchen to defrost the chicken.

"I'm gonna flunk out..." Kelly whined as she bundled her charges into the car and sped off.

* * *

Jack rubbed his aching temples again while he listened to Teal'C's unsatisfactory explanation of what had happened on the planet two days ago. He was struggling to stay calm and military in the face of Teal'C's news. 

Sam and Daniel were missing after an unexpected encounter with some hostile inhabitants on the planet. Other than a brief recollection of the initial encounter and attack, Teal'C had been knocked out and left near the Gate, where he had been found by a rescue team and brought back to Earth. Two SG teams were now on the planet searching for signs of Daniel and Sam.

"Sir," Simmons interrupted the briefing. "We have an audio coming in from the planet. It's Colonel Carter."

Jack bolted out of his seat for the control room with Teal'C close behind.

"Carter!" Jack bellowed into the com.

"Sir, it's good to hear your voice." Sam sounded weak and rough.

"Likewise. What's your status?"

Daniel and I are hiding in a rock field but I don't know where we are in relation to the Gate. We were taken hostage and escaped last night. Daniel's injured. He was able to walk last night but now he's getting worse."

"Stay put, Carter. There's a rescue team on the planet. I'll have them track your com signal. Tell Daniel...hang in there."

"He's unconscious, sir." Sam's voice broke.

The doctor edged his way to the control room microphone, having listened to the exchange from the doorway.

"Colonel Carter, what are Dr. Jackson's vitals?"

Sam knew he meant to simply give him the basics. "He's breathing okay,but his pulse is weak and too fast. He's lost a lot of blood. He was knifed in the abdomen when we were captured. I've bandaged him but it isn't doing much good."

"Good work, Colonel, just keep him still. The rescue team will take it from here." Jack assured her.

"General O'Neill, we are under attack," was the next thing heard in the control room from the rescue team.

"Damn. Lieutenant, get SG teams 5 and 7 down here, now," Jack responded tersely.

It was almost midnight before the rescue had been completed and all personnel were finally safely back on base. Jack had accompanied his former teammates to the infirmary and now sat somberly by Daniel's bedside, watching over his injured friend while Sam was tended to nearby. He scrubbed his face and hair with both hands and looked at Sam as she stood and pulled on her fatigue jacket.

"Sir, I'm going home now," Sam said in a cool, detached tone. In spite of the news of Jack's retirement, nothing had changed for the better between them, to Jack's bitter disappointment.

"Wait, Carter, can I walk out with you?"

Sam paused, debating with herself, then nodded reluctantly. After another concerned glance in Daniel's direction, Jack grabbed his jacket and followed her closely as she made her way to the elevator, determined not to blow this chance to clear the air.

"You sure you're okay?" Jack questioned her as she sagged against the elevator wall.

"Will be. Once I get some sleep."

She did look bone-tired, not to mention dirty.

"Sam, come home with me. I don't think you should be alone tonight." She shot him a defiant look, surprised at his sudden intimate tone of voice, that said, 'I don't need your help,' loud and clear.

"With all due respect. Sir. I want to be alone." Jack seemed to ponder this for a minute, and Sam was surprised when he persisted.

"No, you don't."

The door swished open on the level of the Cheyenne Mountain Complex parking lot and Sam charged for the outside doors, signing out illegibly as she passed the security desk. Jack glanced at the soldier on duty and gestured at the sign out pad, indicating he was to sign the General out. He couldn't take the chance that Sam would get away while he stopped at the desk.

Catching up with her easily, he took hold of her arm and steered her gently towards his truck.

"I'm taking you home."

Jack froze in place, there in the middle of the dark lot, when Sam's response was a choked sob. He had her in his arms in an instant. With one arm wound around herbody and the other holding her head against his shoulder, Jack felt tears of his own fighting to get out.

"Please Sam, let me be your friend again. I miss you. I need you."

"Don't," she whispered wearily. Sam pulled back, almost too weak to free herself from his embrace, and looked up at him. Jack saw her eyes fully for the first time in weeks.

He was struck to the core by the pain in them.

"I don't want to be your friend."

"You don't mean that!" Jack protested, his voice full of fear and sorrow. Sam turned those sad, hopeless eyes on his again, then turned and walked to her car, pulling out her car keys as she went.

Jack's plan had been to go by the book, to wait until he was officially retired and then begin fervently pursuing a relationship with Sam just as he had dreamed about for almost eight years now. But he also recognized that plans sometimes had to be adjusted in midflight. This was one of those times. He didn't know why exactly, but she was giving up on them. He had to find out why.

If he let Sam get in that car and drive away he instinctively knew he wouldn't get another chance. Sam was a strong, stubborn woman. There had been so many times these past eight years when he knew the only reason she had complied with his orders was just that- they were orders.

"You don't mean that," he repeated by her side as she fumbled with the locked car door.

"We need to talk, Sam," he added, placing his hand over hers on the door handle. Taking advantage of a momentary pause in her clumsy efforts to open the door, he slowly pulled her away from the car and into his arms again.

TBC


	4. Resistance

_Sam has just returned from a mission that was tough on her and her team, and Jack is trying to work up the nerve to tell her how he feels about her... here's Chapter 4 of Family SG1 Style._

* * *

"You're wiped. Let me take you home, if that's what you want. Look at you, your hands are shaking. You're too tired to drive home. Let me."

Somehow he had managed to maneuver her back to his truck and Sam found herself obediently climbing into the passenger seat. He shut her door and got in behind the wheel as quickly as he could get around to the other side, not wanting to leave her any room to back out again.

Sam watched him as he drove and he was very conscious of her eyes on him. Jack got the feeling he was being measured up against some invisible ruler and found wanting. The silence became more and more awkward until he was relieved to at last find himself on Sam's street.

Jack pulled up to the curb in front of Sam's house and walked her to the door. It was almost 0100 by now and Sam's eyes were barely staying open. Once she got the door open, he followed her in and shut it behind them, dropped Sam on the couch, and headed to the kitchen. She dimly heard him getting her a glass of ice water, but could no longer resist the fatigue seeping through her brain and body. By the time he got back to her with the water, she was sound asleep, passed out along the length of the cushions.

He had no idea how to fix this, he realized miserably as he watched her for a few minutes, wishing he had the guts to curl up next to her and stay.

Upon his arrival at his own house, Jack tried to sneak in the front door quietly, but Kelly was still up, working on her computer, surrounded by paper and books. She looked up with an electric blue glance and Jack was again struck by how much she looked like Sam.

"Hi, General," she greeted him distractedly, again fastening her attention back on her computer.

"Sorry I'm so late, Kelly. I really am." Jack plopped on the couch and watched her as she continued to work.

"I worked everything out, it's okay," she answered forgivingly. "But this paper's due tomorrow and it's driving me nuts..."

"How's the studies going?" Jack asked, knowing he hadn't helped her with her schedule at all yet.

"I'm managing. I've got Mindy and Nick doing a lot of chores and stuff, and that's helped me keep up with the coursework."

"Glad to hear it. That's probably good for them anyway. Your Aunt Sam is back, and she's okay," Jack offered.

"Yeah, like where has she been? I've been trying to call her for days."

"On assignment."

"Is that where you've been tonight, with Aunt Sam?" Kelly probed hopefully. She hated the coldness that had prevailed between Jack and Sam these past few months.

Jack got up and walked over to take a seat opposite Kelly at the kitchen table she had commandeered for her studies.

"Yeah. Kelly, I know I've asked a lot of you lately, but I really need to spend some time with her tomorrow. I gotta find out what's wrong with her."

"You mean, what's wrong between the two of you. You know, General," Kelly sat back and crossed her arms, looking and acting like a shrink. "it's obvious what's wrong with her."

"Not to me," Jack muttered.

"Okay, let's start with this. You two are so great together. What are you waiting for? And why is she avoiding you? What did you say to her?" Kelly gave him a critical, uncomfortably familiarstare. Why did she have to look so much like Carter? It was unnerving.

" Ehh. It's not what I said, it's what I didn't say. Um. Haven't said."

"Hmmmm." Kelly was giving him the eyebrow and he was trying not to squirm.

"Okay, General sir, I'm going to give you some advice. I may be young, but I am a woman, and if you don't just come out and tell her you love her and can't live without her, she's going to run the other way."

"She knows how I feel about her. Hell, uh, I mean, heck, we've been working together for eight years. We're so close we don't even have to say anything to know what the other is thinking."

"If you haven't told her, then she doesn't know. In fact, the longer you wait, the more she's going to think that the reason you're not telling her is because you don't want to hurt her by telling her you don't feel that way about her." Kelly glared at him.

Jack scratched his head bemusedly. He wasn't totally sure what she'd said, but he knew it was very important that he attempt to understand it.

"So," he hedged, hoping she'd throw him another bone.

"General O'Neill, I kinda heard what you said to her that night a couple months ago. Do you remember? She asked you if you needed her to be around more for all of us, and you assumed she was asking to live with you and then you said..."

"I remember, Kelly," Jack cut her off before he could hear her take on what he had said to Sam that night. Geesh, there was no privacy in this house any more.

"Well, my point is, when I overheard you two, I thought the same thing as Sam- that you didn't want to have a relationship with her, that you see her as a friend, nothing more."

"You did?" Jack was dumbfounded.

"Face it sir, you blew it. She thinks you gave her the brush off."

"Really?" Jack stuttered. "So..."

"So go tell her you love her and you can't live another day without her and you want to be with her for the rest of your life and all that stuff. Don't assume she already knows anything. Spell... it... out." Kelly sighed with relief, having said her piece, and turned back to her paper.

"Now, sir, I really need to finish this paper."

Having been summarily dismissed by Carter number two, Jack wandered back to his room in a daze. If Kelly was right, he was in more trouble than he'd ever guessed.

The sunlight woke her up and Sam found herself alone, the glass of melted ice water on the coffee table beside her. There was no sign of Jack. The light of day revealed how very dirty she and her clothes were. Wrinkling her nose, she stood, downed the water in one long drink, and headed for the shower.

Dressed in clean sweats with a towel on her head, Sam was soon puttering slowly about her kitchen, feeling somewhat better now that she was clean. The phone began to ring just as she finished filling the coffeepot and set it to perk.

"Hello," she mumbled almost incoherently into the receiver.

"Good morning," Jack's voice greeted her. "Can I come in?"

"Huh?"

"You decent? Got coffee? I'm sitting out front." Sam's head jerked up and she peered out the window. There sat Jack's truck at the curb.

"What are you doing here?"

"I want to ask you something. Please can I come in? I can smell the coffee from out here."

Sam smiled in spite of herself at his puppy dog act.

"I guess." She turned and went back into the kitchen to locate a clean mug and poured him some coffee just as he came through the open kitchen door.

"Here." Jack received the hot mug gratefully and sat down at her table, univited but hoping she would followhis leadand sit down. She did.

"Sam, can we just spend some time together today? Go hiking, shopping, whatever you want. Just be together."

"Why?" Sam looked sad, angry, and fearful all at the same time. Kelly was right, Jack realized with a jolt. Sam thought he wasn't interested in her.

"This isn't us, these past two months. Can we just spend some time talking about whatever is bugging you? Whatever it is, whatever I did, I'm sorry. Tell me what I did so we can work it through. Please, Sam."

"You didn't do anything, sir. It was me. I see our relationship differently than you, that's all."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't want to have this conversation, sir."

Sam tried hard to maintain her composure, but this was scaring her to death. She was sure that if she went ahead with this conversation, she'd have to hear in living color how Jack considered her a friend- a great friend, very close, even a best friend- but nothing more. And she didn't want to have to admit that sad truth to herself yet. If they talked, if she heard it from his mouth, her hopes would be crushed once and for all.

"Not acceptable," Jack answered in military mode. "We're going to have this talk. We have to, Sam."

"No, we don't. And I don't want to spend the day with you, hiking, or shopping, or doing anything else. Please go. I'm sure your family could use some more time with you as busy as you've been lately. Please, sir."

Sam stood up and motioned towards the door. When Jack made no move towards it, she waved her hands at him as if to shoo him out.

"Okay," he conceded, "but I'm not leaving. When you're ready, I'll be waiting. I'm not going anywhere until we've talked this out." Jack stepped outside and was almost knocked over by Sam's haste to close the door behind him. As soon as the door closed, he sank to the step and sat down.

To wait.

Sam began to tremble as soon as she had latched the door, sinking to the floor and leaning against its hard wood while trying unsuccessfully to control the tears rolling down her face. After their last serious talk, that night at Jack's house, Sam dreaded bringing the subject up again. She'd practically thrown herself at him, for she had thought he'd been sending signals that he felt the same as she. She'd tentatively opened a door and it felt to Sam like he'd unfeelingly slammed it in her face. There was no way she was opening up to him again.

After a shower and some breakfast, Sam was feeling much better and the whole scene from earlier that morning was quickly fading from her mind. After cleaning up in the kitchen, she grabbed her sunglasses and flipflops and ran outside to grab the paper.

And ran right into Jack.

"Woah!" He caught her just before she pitched over him and down the steps.

"You're-you're-"

"Still here, yes. I told you I'd wait."

"I should have known you would," Sam said dryly, finally smiling at his hard headed persistence.

"So, how 'bout a walk up in the mountains? There's a picnic lunch in the cooler in the truck," he wheedled enticingly.

"I can't. Now I'm going back inside to read the paper, and you are leaving." Sam huffed down to where the paper lay on the drive, circled back and stepped over him as she re-entered the house. She stood in the doorway, glaring at him.

"General," she said in a warning tone.

"I'll be here when you're ready to go."

"Which will be... never!"

"Guess I'll be here a long time, then."

* * *

_Author's notes-- Sorry, I couldn't resist dragging the talk out a little longer. It's coming soon I promise! Really! I know Jack really needs to fix things with Sam- but being Jack, it's hard for him..._

_Thanks for reading and reviewing!_


	5. The Talk

_Sam and Jack have The Talk..._

* * *

"_I can't. Now I'm going back inside to read the paper, and you are leaving." Sam huffed down to where the paper lay on the drive, circled back and stepped over him as she re-entered the house. She stood in the doorway, glaring at him._

"_General," she said in a warning tone._

"_I'll be here when you're ready to go."_

"_Which will be... never!"_

"_Guess I'll be here a long time, then."_

* * *

Sam sat down in the doorway, much to Jack's satisfaction. 

"Okay, Jack, let's talk. Let's just get it all out on the table so we both know the score and you can leave me alone. Talk."

Jack stood and held out a hand to her to help her to her feet.

"Not here, Sam. Let's go for a walk. It would be a waste of a beautiful day if we didn't."

"Well. Okay," Sam agreed guardedly after a minute's reflection. "Let me put on some sneakers. I'll just be a minute."

Sam disappeared into the house, shutting the door behind her, and after a few long minutes Jack began to wonder if she'd changed her mind again, but then she was back, dressed in a cotton shirt, hiking shorts, athletic shoes, and toting a couple of water bottles. Jack stood up, smiling.

"Let's go."

The weather on the mountain ridge was even better than in the city, with the wind blowing just briskly enough to keep them refreshed as they hiked along slowly, enjoying the vistas to either side of the ridge trail. Neither Jack or Sam was particularly interested in talking, in spite of the original stated purpose of their outing. The gorgeous summer day begged to be savored to the exclusion of all else.

Sam eventually stopped to take a long drink from her water bottle so Jack sat down on a stump nearby and did the same. They both noticed the side trail at the same time.

"Why not?" Jack agreed out loud, noticing Sam wore the look of an explorer, mirroring his own yen to wander wherever their feet could take them today. They got up and set off down the trail, Sam bringing up their rear, taking it more and more carefully as the trail quickly turned into a steep descent. Soon it became more of a climb than the two casual day hikers were prepared for.

After another half hour of laboriously picking their way down the mountainside, Sam stopped and turned to Jack. "I think it's time to go back up to the ridge trail, sir," Sam observed reluctantly. "This is beginning to be out of our league."

"You're, right, Carter, about face," he joked as they turned and began climbing.

Going up was a lot harder than climbing down had been, and both were winded in a fairly short time. Worse, the summer sky had changed moods unexpectedly. They could hear the rumbling of thunder growing closer. The sky was darkening quickly. Jack turned and caught Sam's eyes, confirming his own assessment that they wouldn't make it back to the truck, parked back at the trail head, before the storm hit. Looking around for anything that would serve as a temporary shelter on the exposed mountainside, Jack spotted a rocky overhang with a wide enough shelf for the two of them.

"Let's wait it out over there. You didn't happen to listen to a weather report this morning, did you?"

"No, didn't you?" Sam retorted reproachfully.

"If I had, I wouldn't have asked you," Jack pointed out as they settled themselves in under the rocky cliff to wait out the storm. The first fat raindrops were already splattering around them. The air temperature was noticeably dropping while the winds were rapidly increasing.

When a bolt of lightning struck the ground just above their position on the slope, so close they could saw smoke and dust rise from the strike point, Sam jumped back in alarm and the back of her head hit the rock face behind them.

"You okay?" Jack asked, having heard her skull audibly crack against the rocky wall. Her response was drowned out by a tremendous roar of thunder. He automatically pulled her against his side and rubbed her head with a gentle hand.

"That was too close," Sam gasped. "I hate to be a wimp, but I'm afraid of lightning and thunder," she confessed in a trembling tone.

"Well, under the circumstances, so am I," Jack rejoined with a wry grimace, huddling in closer to her as she wrapped her arms around him. He looked down at her. Sam had closed her eyes and hidden her face against his tee shirt. Jack wasn't going to admit it out loud, but he was beginning to enjoy some aspects of their predicament.

The pounding noise of rain and thunder made communication impossible for the next little while. The raging storm was beautiful in its threat and fury. Jack couldn't remember ever being this exposed to a storm of such intensity and did his best to drink in the experience, but poor Sam remained huddled miserably against him. He could feel her body quaking in his arms. He knew she would be embarrassed later to have shown him such vulnerability. The thought caused him to tenderly tuck her head in closer under his chin.

"Sam? You doing okay?"

There was no answer.

"Sam?" Jack questioned again, his lips on her ear.

"Don't," she cried out. Trying not to smile too widely at her unexpected weakness, Jack renewed his warm grip on her and settled back, relishing the feel of having Carter wrapped around him so tightly she was making it hard for him to breathe.

"So, this seems like a good time to have that talk I've been wanting to have," Jack couldn't resist commenting. He had to practically scream to be heard over the wind.

"Not now!" Sam responded, slightly hysterical from the unrelenting storm still wildly blowing all around them. Jack chuckled to himself. He looked down at her again and found a pair of frightened, reddened eyes staring up at him reproachfully. Seeing his amusement, Sam scowled and attempted to pull back from his grasp to recover what was left of her dignity.

"Where you going? I like you there!" Jack protested. "How's your head?"

"Hurts." She sighed in resignation and snuggled up to him again. For the next several minutes, the storm increased even more, making all attempts to be heard impossible. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the rain lessened and the skies lightened. The two hikers stayed put until the sound of the lightning had diminished to a safe distance.

"Let's give the trail a try," Jack suggested. "You ready?"

They stood up, Sam still slightly pale, and together they began the slow ascent, through rocks and roots that were now dangerously rain slick.

"Watch it," Sam couldn't help crying out when Jack slipped out of his foothold yet again just in front of her. "This wasn't such a good idea," she added anxiously as she scrambled up behind him, trying not to lose her footing either, trying not to look down.

"We don't have much choice at this point," Jack observed. "Oh oh." He pointed up ahead to a new rain-runoff waterfall splashing down the path of least resistance: the trail.

"What now?" Jack turned and asked his brilliant companion.

"Wait for it to stop?" Sam suggested helplessly. "I don't know," she added, looking around them, "it's not like there's another path through these rock outcroppings."

Jack gazed around them as well, looking for an alternative route.

"Yeah, the rocks are steeper to either side. We might be able to shimmy up that one, though, and cut around the runoff that way." He pointed.

"Worth a try," Sam agreed. Jack let Sam go first, and she had soon made it to the top of the wet sloping rocks and was looking back at Jack expectantly. He gamely jumped onto the slippery rock face and began pulling himself along the path Sam had taken.

"Carter, I'm slipping," he called suddenly. Jack scrambled to keep his purchase but slowly slid down the smooth, wet rock to its base, where he cast about for a frantic second or two to find a secure position. All the climbing he'd done for the last ten minutes was now undone. Sam leaned over the edge, watching him with a very worried expression.

"Screw this," he burst out impatiently, simultaneously pulling at something in the back of his waistband. Sam saw three quick blasts of blue light and then observed pieces of rock flying in all directions.

"You brought a zat with you?" She squeaked incredulously.

Jack was at her side within a few minutes, having zatted out several secure footholds at strategic points along the boulder. "It's the boy scout in me," Jack explained smugly, replacing the zat in its concealed holster.

"Do you have an Asgard transporter too?" She asked playfully.

"Sadly, no, we'll have to walk out the rest of the way the same way we walked in. Let's keep moving."

The two were wet, tired, and muddy when they finally arrived back at Jack's truck almost an hour later. Both of them flopped into the seats with grateful sighs.

"That was harder than being off-world usually is," Sam moaned.

"You're dripping mud on my seat," Jack pointed out, glaring with mock indignation.

"So are you." She stared back at him. They slowly crumbled into smiles and laughter as they took in how muddy and wet they each were.

"I can't believe you brought a zat," Sam giggled.

"I'd still be standing on the side of that mountain if I hadn't," Jack chuckled.

"Do you do that often?"

"What? Carry my zat? No! I'd actually forgotten I had it with me. Hey. Are you hungry?"

"Starved, General," Sam agreed. "Still got that picnic lunch?"

"Right here," Jack pulled the cooler out of the back and opened it on the seat between them. "Tuna or chicken salad, apples, chips, chocolate chip cookies, Coke, Diet Coke..."

Jack recited as he spread out the contents of the cooler for Sam's benefit.

Holding his sandwich and cola, Jack studied her, hesitating, but knowing it was time.

"Sam," Jack addressed her as she bit into an apple, "I know I hurt your feelings the last time we talked, and I'm really sorry. Let me explain, please?"

Sam steeled herself for the 'I love you as a friend' speech she was sure was next. She knew she couldn't avoid this any longer. She met his eyes with an apprehensive gaze as he continued.

"I've spent so long trying to keep my feelings for you under control for the sake of our working relationship. I didn't want to mess that up, because I love working with you every day, and I didn't want to take a chance on hurting your career. And somewhere I'd gotten the idea that you had moved on. Somehow over these past few years I just assumed you'd gotten past it, that you didn't have feelings for me in that way any more. Then, when my sister died and the kids moved in, we started spending a lot of down time together. I loved being around you. I started hoping again. For us I mean."

"Hoping for us?" Sam echoed. Her largely uneaten sandwich lay forgotten on the top of the cooler.

"Look, Sam, that night at my house, when you offered to help more, to be there for me and the kids, I was surprised, but not for the reasons you think."

"Really? Why then?"

Jack breathed in deeply. "I didn't expect it. But only because I'd talked myself into believing you weren't interested. I still can't figure out why you want to be with me. So before I screw things up again, I want you to know how I feel about you. You should know that I'm crazy about you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Sam's steeled heart was beginning to melt as she listened to words she hadn't thought she'd ever hear. She held her breath when Jack's hand moved to her cheek causing her skin to tingle delightfully. This wasn't the touch of a friend, even a good friend, but that of a lover. Soon his other hand was on her face too. She willingly leaned into his tender hold.

"I'm not just asking you to move in, Sam. I want to marry you. To commit myself to you, for as long as you want me. Which I hope will be a very, very long time."

Sam was fighting tears, savoring the fingers that were reverently stroking her cheeks, still watching his face with some hesitancy. She was mentally weighing the sincerity of his words against the scenario she had built up in her mind over these past few months.

"So? Will you? Marry me?"

"Uh huh," Sam murmured, giving in to tears of joy and pulling his forehead down to her shoulder. Jack instantly reacted, clasping her to his chest mindless of the contents of their picnic falling to the floorboards as he did so.

"Jack, what about..."

"Sam. We'll take things one day at a time, okay?"

"Okay," Sam smiled against his shirt. "Anything else you want to tell me?" She prodded.

"That's not enough?"

"Not quite."

"Oh, right! I love you, Sam. Have for a long time."

"I love you too, Jack, with all my heart," Sam sighed. "Let's go tell the kids."

"In a minute."

"Oh."

Understanding his meaning, Sam lovingly raised her face to him just as he leaned down to kiss her. The result was a perfect blend of all their hopes and passion. The kiss turned into two, then three, and soon all thought of doing anything except making out in Jack's truck was happily forgotten.

* * *

TBC? 


	6. Telling Kelly Carter

Okay... you all convinced me...here's Chapter six, and thanks to all who asked for more. You made my day. Smile!

Jack and Sam slipped into his house quietly through the front door, not wanting to wake anyone. The first thing they heard was the sound of sobbing coming from Kelly's room. Jack and Sam exchanged an alarmed look.

"Kelly?" Jack whispered loudly as he tapped on her closed door. "Kelly, open up."

The young girl opened her door after a moment, still sniffling. Her blonde hair looked like a fuzzy halo around her teary face. Jack put an arm around her and coaxed her out to the living room couch, where he sat her down between himself and Sam.

"What's wrong?" he asked with trepidation. Kelly cried about as often as Carter. Which was almost never.

"I got a.. Cminush inmy...andnowits..." Kelly gushed incoherently, the tears flowing anew. Jack looked lost.

"You got a C minus?" Sam exclaimed, very coherently, her eyes wide with shock. "On what?"

Jack gave Sam an incredulous look. He hadn't understood a word that Kelly had said.

"My paper, there," she pointed at the coffee table where a slightly crumpled writing assignment lay.

"Kelly, it's not the end of the world. You passed, didn't you? You can still pull up your final grade, right?" Jack consoled.

"You got a C minus?" Sam repeated, dumbfounded.

"Sam!" Jack warned her. Geesh, who could even believe these Carters.

"If I don't get all A's I'll lose my scholarship," Kelly wailed.

"Lose your scholarship!" Sam echoed, aghast.

Jack rolled his eyes.

"Okay, stop right there, both of you. First of all, Kelly, you won't lose your scholarship if you don't get all A's. You just have to keep a 3.0 average. I read the letter from your dean last week, you know. And secondly, even if you do go below a 3.0, they just put your on academic probation for a semester. And thirdly, there's no way I'm letting you drop out of the university. Whether you have a scholarship or not."

Kelly stopped crying and looked at him quizzically.

"I think I can speak for your aunt when I say that the two of us will take care of you while you're in school, Kell, whatever you need. You don't have to do this alone."

"I love you, General sir!" Kelly gushed, crying from joy now and throwing her arms around him in a stranglehold.

"I love you too, Kelly. And as far as I'm concerned, from here on out, you're a part of this family."

Kelly pulled back, unable to conceal an ear to ear grin.

"What family would that be?" She squeaked.

"The General and Colonel O'Neill family." Sam said dreamily, lovingly wrapping her arms around Jack from behind him.

"What! Woo hoo! Omigosh! I knew it!" Kelly screeched and bounced between them with uncontrolled exuberance. "When's the wedding?"

"Uh," Jack coughed, "We just got engaged about an hour ago. We'll have to get back to you."

"You just got...I knew it! Way to go, General O'Neill!" Kelly was beside herself.

"Uncle Jack," a sleepy voice mumbled in the hallway behind them. Maddie, disturbed by the commotion, stood at the threshold of the living room, looking adorable in her footed sleepers and clutching a floppy-eared stuffed bunny.

"Come here," he replied, holding out both arms to her. She shuffled sleepily into his arms and nestled against him with a contented sigh. Jack's eyes closed too as they cuddled together.

Kelly and Sam exchanged a very female look.

"Awww," they exclaimed in unison, unable to resist the sweet tableau in front of them.

Later, after a contented Kelly and a sleepy Maddie had finally retired for the night, Sam got her chance to cuddle with her General. Sitting together on the couch as close as they could possibly be, Sam caught Jack's eyes with her own.

"Happy?" She whispered.

"Very."

"That was a wonderful thing to say to Kelly, Jack. She was blown away."

"Aw, you Carters are just irrestistable, that's all."

"So, when is the wedding, Sam?"

"When are you officially retired?"

"In two weeks."

"So, a wedding in say, three weeks?"

"Anxious, are we?"

"Completely."

"Good answer."

Three weeks suddenly felt like an eternity.


End file.
